Why did women get the vote?‘Suffragists’ – ‘NUWSS’ 1897

National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society

50% in favour

By 1900 ½ of MP’s in favour of female suffrage.

Lost support by switching to labour after 1910.

Buy none were passed!!!!

Got men into parliament in favour

of female suffrage. To the only place that

could actually change the law.

Presence ensured. From 1910 conciliation bill introduced each year to grant women the vote

Showing acceptance of female suffrage. More a matter of when rather than if.

ARGUMENTS

•Publicity

•Peaceful Petitions

•Politicians

1907 ud March

Petitions to Parliament

1910 – 250,000

signatures to

parliamentImportant

as countered argument women didn’t want vote

Plus strength of petition is debatable when anti female suffrage group gave petitions with 250,000 in 1908.

Worked with pro-female suffrage politicians. They helped with their election campaigns e.g. leaflets, organised meetings.

Peaceful methods won respect – deserved vote.

Although peaceful methods easy to ignore – Generally believed by 1903 suffragists were ignored by press.

took partPublicity

3

Very important

in decision to grant

vote to women

Met with politicians 2 weeks before outbreak of war to discuss female suffrage

53,000 members in 1914 500 branches nationwide

POINT The suffragists were important in helping women get the vote. They were formed in 1897 and led by Millicent Fawcett

EVIDENCE They worked with M.P’s

•Up till 1910 they worked with the liberals M.P’s that wanted to give women the vote.

•At election time they helped with their campaigns such as handing out leaflets to win support.

ARGUMENTthis was important because it helped get M.P’s into parliament who wanted to give women the vote. By 1900 over half MP’s supported female suffrage. Their support helped with the introduction of conciliation bills after 1910 which aimed to give women the vote. While some argue that this was very important, as these bills took place each year and indicate that it was more a case of when rather than if women should get the vote, it is important to remember that

none of these bills never got beyond a second reading.

EVIDENCE They raised awareness and gained publicity.

•They had 53,000 members with 500 branches by 1913.

•Mud March 1907 3,000 campaigned in pouring rain.

•1910 they presented a petition with 250,000 signatures for female suffrage to the govt.

ARGUMENTThis was important because it gave publicity to the cause and their large numbers helped disprove the argument that most women did not want the vote. However the importance of petitions should not be over exaggerated given in 1908 a group of female anti suffrage members presented a petition with 250,000 signatures against vote for women.

HOWEVER by 1900 the suffragists were losing publicity. (p63) The tactics were easily ignored by the public and press and MP’s had other things to worry about.

Therefore the suffragist peaceful pressure was important in gaining respect and political support for the vote but failed to force the government to grant the vote by 1914.

POINT The suffragettes did gain publicity for votes for women but violent tactics acted as an obstacle to women getting the vote. They were formed in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst . They believed in using ‘ deeds not words’ to get the vote.

EVIDENCEThey gained publicity and revitalised the campaign 1903-1910.

•Window smashing campaign

•Chained themselves to gates of parliament

•Heckled politicians

•Hunger striking when arrested

ARGUMENTThis was important because these actions got the women noticed, they gained masses of publictiy in the press which had been ignoring the issue of women’s suffrage. More people were aware and talking about the case of votes for women and joined the suffragettes and suffragists making them stronger. Even Milicent Fawcett argued that they revitalised the campaign.

EVIDENCE They gained lots of publicity during the Wild Period 1912-14. Attacks on property.

•Threw an axe at Asquith the Prime Minister

•Emily Wilding Davison threw herself in front of the kings horse at the Derby in 1913.

•Set fires to Leuchars Railway station.

ARGUMENT –This was important because these actions achieved their goal of making politicians take notice and the suffragettes were discussed daily in parliament, something not achieved by the suffragists.

HOWEVER This actually made it harder for women to get the vote because because the govt could not be seen to give into terrorist actions or other groups could use the same tactics. They actually lost support and their actions reinforced the beliefs of those who said women couldn’t be trusted with the vote. The 1912 conciliation bill was stopped and blamed on suffragette violence.

Therefore the suffragettes may have revitalised the cause but by 1914 they had lost public and political support and as such were a barrier to women getting the vote. ( A+ Candidates – consider threat of return to terrorism in 1918)

Why did women get the vote?‘War Work’

Removed argument

women didn’t deserve

vote as they hadn’t

fought for their country.

Although needed pre-war campaign to have raised awareness.

But – not a reward. Vote given to women over 30 who owned property – middle and upper classes. Not the twenty year old working class women who risked lives in munitions.

REWARD

French women did war work but did not get vote. Great Britain had something different – Female suffrage campaign.

Plus women part of labour market for centuries. Why reward with vote for 4 years work!

HISTORIANS SAY

1915 – MUNITION CRISISWomen ‘step up’. Help with war effort.

•919,000 in munitions

•60% of shell makers – women

•Land army

Canaries

Life threatening

Suffragette violence stopped. Combined

with new respect for women.

Billboards saying ‘the

nation thanks women’.

Made it a better time for government to

back down. Since no terrorists, improved

attitude to women. No longer

POINT World War One broke out in 1914, during the war women replaced men in essential industries and worked in munitions, these actions helped women get the vote.

EVIDENCE

The suffragettes called off their campaign. Women across Britain took part in war effort.

•919,000 worked in munitions by 1917. 60% of shell makers were women.

•Replaced men in transport industries

•Also worked to support war e.g WRAF

ARGUMENTThis was important because women’s actions helped Britain fight and win the war. They risked their lives working in munition factories providing the weapons Britiain needed to win the war, therefore it could no longer be argued that women didn’t deserve the vote as they had not fought for their country.

HOWEVER the vote was not simply a reward for war work as it was not given to those that had done most of the war work. The vote was given to those over 30 who owned property or were married to property owners. The majority of munition workers were young girls in late teens and early twenties who were not wealthy enough to own property.

In France women also completed war work, but they were not rewarded with the vote. The difference between France and Britain was that Britain had had a pre-war suffrage campaign and France had not. This suggests the work done by suffragists and suffragettes before the war was very important in helping women to get the vote.

Therefore work done by women in WW1 helped give the government an excuse to give women the vote however the decision had already been made due to the prewar campaigning. The war provided the opportunity rather than the reason.

ARGUMENTThis was important because women had shown that they were hard working and trustworthy this helped improve their public image after the negative publicity of the suffragette wild period, people now believe that they deserved the vote.

ARGUMENTThis was important because since the suffragettes were no longer using violence, the government were able to give women the vote without looking as if they were giving in to suffragette violence.

EVIDENCEThe suffragettes called off their campaign during the war.

POINT

Attitudes to women were changing and this helped women get the vote.

EVIDENCE

Attitudes to women in politics were changing. In 1869 the municipal franchise allowed women to vote in local elections. From 1870-1884 women were able to vote on local, town and county councils.

ARGUMENTThis was important because their involvement in politics showed that it was outdated to argue that women could not be wives and mothers and be involved in politics. Also it acted as stepping stones to gaining the vote in national elections.  

EVIDENCE

Attitudes to women’s education had changed. Boys and girls were entitled to a basic education from 1872. After 1870 some universities allowed women to get degrees.

ARGUMENTThis was important because it meant that stereotypical attitudes to women as inferior were being over turned and it could no longer be argued that women were not educated enough to cope with the vote.

HOWEVERalthough attitudes to women were changing and making it harder to deny women the vote, it was very slow and their political power remained limited. In 1914 there were 11,000 town councillors and only 24 were women. In light of this, it is unlikely that women would have been granted the vote in 1918 purely as a result of changing attitudes to women.